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Celebrated Military Photographer Stacy Pearsall to Speak at CWU November 9

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (November 5, 2012) — Acclaimed photographer and decorated veteran of the US Air Force, Stacy Pearsall will speak at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, November 9, in the Central Washington University Student Union and Recreation Center Theatre, as part of CWU’s Performing Arts and Speakers Series (PASS).

Pearsall, 31, has spent nearly half her life as a military photographer and has earned multiple awards for heroic action, athleticism, and photography. She is one of only two women to win the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Military Photographer of the Year competition and the only woman who has won it more than once. Her work has appeared in Time magazine, the New York Times, and Sports Illustrated as well as on CNN, the BBC, and USA Today.

Pearsall empowers her speeches by drawing upon the adversity she faced as a woman in Combat Camera, a demanding, male-dominated military photography unit. She engaged in some of the most dangerous battles of our time, sustaining extensive injuries and psychological trauma during the last of her three combat tours.

Injuries to her spine left Pearsall physically unable to wear combat armor. After being honorably discharged and struggling with a crisis of purpose, Pearsall established her own photography business, the Charleston Center for Photography, and became an advocate for women veterans.

“Attitude is everything,” Pearsall says. “You’ll only get back what you put in, so give your all and never give up.”

Pearsall recently gained additional renown for her Veterans Portrait Project. The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina, has a collection from the project permanently on display. Several other medical centers plan to follow suite.

Pearsall has also used her combat experience in literary endeavors. She co-authored songs with country music performers Radney Foster, Darden Smith, and Jay Clementi for a musical album titled Face of Freedom. Her autobiography, Shooter, was released last month.